FIVE THINGS TO WATCH
1 CAN TOM BRADY PLAY, AND PLAY WELL?
All indications are the New England Patriots QB will indeed start, play, and probably play without much limitation, after reportedly cutting the thumb on his right throwing hand Wednesday.
2 JAGUARS’ PRESSURE ON BRADY:
Although “Sacksonville” can bring destructive pressure from its line alone, you don’t record the second highest number of sacks (55) by any NFL team since 2014 by playing it safe with pressure schemes. Calais Campbell led the AFC with 14.5 sacks; the other end, Yannick Ngakoue, had 12. Backup end Dante Fowler Jr., and tackle Malik Jackson each had eight. Brady hates instant inside pressure, and if any team can bring it, it’s these Jaguars.
3 THE JAGUARS RUNNING GAME:
If the Jags run it successfully, as they did at Pittsburgh, everything on offence opens up. The Pats defence has been vulnerable to strong rushing attacks. But if New England can bottle up Leonard Fournette and backup RB T.J. Yeldon, QB Blake Bortles becomes a liability.
4 WHICH BLAKE BORTLES PLAYS?
That is, the one who passed dreadfully so often this season and against Buffalo two weeks ago? Or the one who in early December, and last week at Pittsburgh, mostly sparkled? Surprisingly, Bortles can be as efficient as any QB in the league in the red zone. The Jags led the AFC in the red zone by scoring TDs 46% of the time in the regular season — and are 6-for-6 in the playoffs. But the Pats are ball hounds in the red zone and will capitalize on any Bortles blunders.
5 SPECIAL TEAMS:
New England under Bill Belichick works as hard as any coach to find edges on special teams. Pittsburgh blocked a Jaguars punt last week, and if there are other such Jaguar special-team weaknesses the Pats probably have found them.